A group of 16 Notre Dame runners, in blue and gold uniforms, celebrated the memory of Ryan Shay's life by running the ING NYC Marathon on Sunday, finishing what Shay was not able to do a year earlier in the U.S. Men's Olympic Marathon Trials. They started with private prayers and group chanting on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and ended with upraised, clasped hands as the first three runners crossed the finish line together in 2:57:57. They were Sean McManus and Sean Zanderson, both former Shay teammates, and Shay's brother, Case Shay, who flew to New York from South Korea, where he lives.

"Toward the end, Case picked it up a little, and I wasn't sure what he was intending," admitted McManus. "I thought I should just give him his space. But then he slowed down and reached out for me and Sean. It was a really amazing run and a very emotional weekend, especially when you consider the logistics of getting so many people together in so many different places--Manhattan, New Jersey, Staten Island."

Saturday morning the group attended a Ryan Shay park bench dedication in Central Park and an evening memorial service in New Jersey. "We wanted all of this to be a celebration of Ryan's life, and it was," said McManus. "But you can't help but get emotional at certain times, especially when you hear Alicia speaking about Ryan and see the sadness still written on her face, and realize how hard this has been for her."

The Notre Dame runners stuck together for the first 2.5 miles, longer than they had intended--and longer than the one mile some of the out-of-shape guys had asked for. But the TV broadcasters wanted to include them in a planned on-the-road interview, which the ND team agreed to, and TV cameras couldn't reach them until the far side of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. "After that, we split up and ran our own paces in different groups," said McManus.

After many miles to think about it, each runner had a different reaction when they reached Ryan's Rock in Central Park at about 24.5 miles on the course. "Case had been falling back and complaining that we had picked up the pace too much, to maybe 6:10s from the 6:45s we had been running," said McManus. "But when we reached Ryan's Rock, I gave him a little fist bump and he started running 6:10s again, so obviously the rock had an effect on him. At that point, I had actually started cramping up and hurting pretty bad. So I started thinking about some of my long runs with Ryan when he was putting even more hurt on me, and I was able to draw strength from that."

For Zanderson, the marathon turned into a miracle of support for Notre Dame and for Shay, much more than he had expected. "I was astonished at all the 'Go Irish' cheers and the 'Run for Ryan' cheers," he said. "When I got to Ryan's Rock, it was a time to reflect on the pride I feel for Notre Dame and all my Notre Dame friends, and the way we showed up here in New York to celebrate Ryan."

Alicia Craig Family Runners

Another group of almost two dozen members of Alicia Craig's family and friends also ran the marathon in Shay's memory. The leader of this group was Doug Tumminello, Alicia's brother-in-law and a Denver area attorney who reached the summit of Mount Everest in 2006. "The race went really well for us--we all finished strong and injury free," reported Tumminello after completing the course in 4:04:12. "It was an amazing experience--the spectators, the cheering, the bands, the support, the weather, the views, all of it."

Tumminello said he hit the wall at about 16 miles, and had to work hard to push on. He was fighting his way through the ups and downs of Central Park when he "suddenly realized that I was running right by the Boathouse and Ryan's Rock and bench. I was probably running 12 minute miles at that point, so I have to think Ryan was laughing from above as he watched me get choked up as I barely shuffled along.

"All in all," Tumminello concluded, "I think we honored Ryan's spirit well, and in a way he would have greatly appreciated."

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